29th Massachusetts Infantry

The Regiment was organized at Newport News, Virginia in, December 1861, from the 1st Battalion Massachusetts Infantry (7 Companies) and 3 new companies ("F," "G" and "H") organized 13-17 December, which joined the regiment at Newport News, Va., 17 January 1862.

[In mid-June, 1862 the Irish Brigade] - received a reinforcement - a whole new regiment, the 29th Massachusetts, Colonel Ebenezer Pierce, reported to General Meagher. The 29th was uncompromisingly old Yankee, a mustering of names that would have sounded familiar in the forecastle or on the quarterdeck of the Mayflower. It was an unlikely matching with their ancient political foes the Irish, but the introduction turned out well, each side discovering hidden virtues in the other."
(from Jones)

The 29th was the non-Irish regiment of the Irish Brigade at Antietam. They fought in line between the 63rd and 69th New York regiments in the assault on the Confederate positions in the Sunken Road.

... Since General Meagher had been disabled, there had been no general officer present, each Colonel acting upon his own responsibility. The enemy were well covered and determined.

Up to this time neither regiment had known the fate of the others, nor the extent of their respective losses. Colonel Barnes now hastened to the right of the Twenty-ninth, for the purpose of taking a careful survey of the field. To his dismay, he perceived that the Sixty-ninth, though holding on bravely, had lost nearly half their number; the Sixty-third had fared equally as hard, and the officers and men of both regiments were striving to keep up their formation. The Colonel, feeling a deep responsibility, saw at once that something must be done to prevent disaster; he knew, though he had received no orders since entering the fight, that from necessity the Brigade would soon be relieved, and was every moment expecting to hear the welcome shouts of fresh troops. Hastily giving his idea to Major Charles Chipman, his brave and worthy subordinate, he called upon the regiment for three cheers. The Major took the order to the left, and the boys gave the cheers with a will. Colonel Barnes then gave the order, "forward!" Instantly Sergeant Francis M. Kingman, the dauntless color-bearer, sprang to the front, the whole regiment promptly following him. Above the noise of the battle were heard the answering shouts of the brave Irishmen of the Brigade, their warlike spirit gaining fresh impulse as they started forward on the charge ...

Detail Map #9: Richardson's Division Attacks the Sunken Road (10-11 am)
Detail Map #10: Confederate Counterattacks in the Center (11 am-1 pm)

Tablet #35: Second Army Corps - 15 Sep, 7 AM to 15 Sep, 8 PM
Tablet #34: Richardson's Division, Second Army Corps - 15 Sep, 8 PM to 17 Sep, 7 AM
Tablet #115: Second Army Corps - 15 Sep, 9 AM to 17 Sep, 7 AM
Tablet #46: Meagher's Brigade, Richardson's Division - 17 Sep, 10 AM to 17 Sep, 2 PM
Tablet #121: Army of the Potomac - 17 Sep, 8 AM to 17 Sep, 6 PM
Tablet #116, cont: Second Army Corps - 17 Sep, 9 AM to 17 Sep, 12 PM
Tablet #44: Richardson's Division, Second Army Corps - 17 Sep, 9 AM to 17 Sep, 2 PM

The unit was replaced in the Irish Brigade with the (Irish) 28th Massachusetts, and transferred to the Ninth Corps in December 1862. It campaigned in that organization for the remainder of the War.

Details here from: Dyer's A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion,(1908), Paul Jones' The Irish Brigade (reprinted 1996), with the quote from Osborne's History of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the Late War of the Rebellion (1877).